Bartleby, the Scrivener (Melville)
Short Summary
Wall Street, New York, mid-19th century. An elderly lawyer hired a new scrivener named Bartleby to copy legal documents in his office.
At first, Bartleby worked diligently, but soon began responding to requests with 'I would prefer not to.' He refused to proofread, run errands, or even leave the office. The lawyer discovered that Bartleby had made the office his home, sleeping there at night. Despite his growing frustration, the lawyer felt compassion for the mysterious scrivener.
When Bartleby stopped working entirely, the lawyer moved his business to a new location, but Bartleby refused to leave the old office. The new tenants complained, and Bartleby was arrested as a vagrant. In prison, he refused all food and died of starvation.
After Bartleby's death, the lawyer learned that he had previously worked in the Dead Letter Office in Washington.
Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men? Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters?
This revelation suggested that years of handling undelivered letters containing hope, love, and mercy that never reached their intended recipients had contributed to Bartleby's profound despair and ultimate demise.
Detailed Summary
Division of the summary into chapters is conditional.
Introduction of the Narrator and His Office
I am a rather elderly man. The nature of my avocations for the last thirty years has brought me into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men... the law-copyists
The story began with an elderly lawyer describing his profession and employees. He ran a prosperous business on Wall Street, dealing with rich men's bonds, mortgages, and title-deeds. His office employed two copyists and an office boy.
The first copyist, Turkey, was an Englishman close to the narrator's age. While efficient in the morning, he became reckless and accident-prone after his midday dinner, often making blots on documents and displaying aggressive behavior. The second copyist, Nippers, suffered from indigestion and ambition, being irritable in the mornings but calmer after noon. Their complementary temperaments meant that the office always had at least one effective copyist. The office boy, Ginger Nut, earned his nickname from frequently fetching ginger nut cakes for the copyists.
The Arrival of Bartleby and His Initial Period
I can see that figure now-pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby... After a few words touching his qualifications, I engaged him, glad to have among my corps of copyists a man of so singularly sedate an aspect
Due to increased business, the narrator hired a new scrivener named Bartleby. He placed Bartleby's desk near his own, separated by a folding screen that provided both privacy and accessibility. Initially, Bartleby proved to be an exceptional worker, copying documents day and night without pause.
The Beginning of Bartleby's Resistance
Imagine my surprise, nay, my consternation, when without moving from his privacy, Bartleby in a singularly mild, firm voice, replied, 'I would prefer not to.'
The turning point came when the narrator asked Bartleby to help proofread a document. To everyone's astonishment, Bartleby quietly replied that he would 'prefer not to.' This became his standard response to any request beyond copying. He refused to verify his work, run errands, or even explain his behavior. Despite this peculiar conduct, he continued to copy documents efficiently, and the narrator, though puzzled and frustrated, found himself unable to dismiss him.
Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance. If the individual so resisted be of a not inhumane temper, and the resisting one perfectly harmless in his passivity, then... he will endeavor charitably to construe
The situation grew more complex when the narrator discovered that Bartleby had been living in the office, eating and sleeping there in secret. This revelation, combined with Bartleby's increasing withdrawal from work duties, created a difficult situation. The scrivener eventually stopped copying altogether, standing motionless at his window for hours, staring at the blank wall outside.
Attempts to Remove Bartleby
After Bartleby ceased all work, the narrator attempted various strategies to remove him from the office. He tried reasoning with him, offering him money, and even suggesting alternative careers, but Bartleby preferred to remain where he was. The narrator's frustration grew as his professional reputation began to suffer due to Bartleby's presence. Other lawyers visiting the office were disturbed by the strange, idle man who refused to leave.
In desperation, the narrator decided to move his business to a new location, leaving Bartleby behind. However, this plan backfired when the new tenants of his former office complained about Bartleby's continued presence. The scrivener had remained in the building, sleeping in the stairwell and wandering the corridors. The narrator was called back to deal with the situation, as he was considered responsible for Bartleby.
Bartleby's Final Days
Eventually, the police were called, and Bartleby was arrested as a vagrant. He was taken to the Tombs, the city prison, where the narrator visited him. Despite the narrator's attempts to ensure his comfort, including arranging for special meals with the grub-man, Bartleby refused all assistance.
On his final visit to the prison, the narrator found Bartleby lying in the prison yard, his face turned to the high wall. He had died, apparently having preferred not to eat. The narrator later learned that Bartleby had previously worked in the Dead Letter Office in Washington, handling undelivered mail that was eventually destroyed.
For by the cart-load they are annually burned... pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping; good tidings for those who died stifled by unrelieved calamities. On errands of life, these letters speed to death.
The story concluded with the narrator's reflection on Bartleby's tragic life and death. The revelation about Bartleby's previous employment at the Dead Letter Office provided a possible explanation for his profound detachment and despair, as he had spent years handling messages that never reached their intended recipients, perhaps contributing to his eventual withdrawal from human connection and life itself.